Video Aspect Ratio?

Did you ever wonder why people on your TV look too thin or too wide? Or why there are black boxes on the top/bottom or sides of your screen? The “Aspect Ratio” button on your remote should take care of that.

The aspect ratio is the relationship of the width of a video image compared to its height. In the early years TV screens were rather square-ish in shape with an aspect ratio of 4:3, and computer monitors followed in that same format. Take the 3 Stooges for example.

Today, the vast majority of television programs and videos are filmed with an aspect ratio of 16:9, which fits perfectly with high definition TV. However, older programs and videos that were created in a 4:3 ratio may not fill your newer monitor correctly. That results in black bars filling the rest of the space on your screen (called keystoning), or the image is distorted on your screen to fill the space (called annoying).

So if you’re watching TV, the answer to fixing too thin or too wide people on your screen may be that “Aspect Ratio” button on your remote. It attempts to match the movie format to your screen. If you’re watching on a computer monitor, you’ll have to live with black bars.